The other day I was at work and I saw a copy of The Power Of Salad & Milkshakes, which I would probably rank on my list of the 10 best music DVDs ever made. Oh, that’s a good Top 10 idea. I’ll have to remember that. You know if you want to buy a copy of that disc these days, a new one is going to set you back over $40? That’s crazy. Or maybe it’s just a testament to how riveting and life-altering a Lightning Bolt show can be.
Without divulging any names, there was a time in my life when long nights of playing music in my father’s basement would culminate in a series of hearty bong rips and then a few hours of television/movie watching. One time a good friend brought over this DVD to show me, and I swear to God I heard things in the duo’s music that I’d never heard before. It was almost as if the timbre of the crash symbols were vocalizations that were being “sung” over the rest of the cacophony. Maybe I was just really high at the time, but I remember thinking there were verses and choruses being sung through those cymbals.
The guys performed live on Brian Turner’s show back in 2001. February 27th was the date. This was very shortly before I’d really heard of and grown to love the Brians (Chippendale, drums/vocals and Gibson, bass). I think it would take another year or two for them to appear on my radar. I remember Ian playing Wonderful Rainbow for me on a trip to or from Princeton Record Exchange and it blowing my mind. I’ve probably written this somewhere before, but so powerful is this band — so massive and propelling and fierce — that if I had to think of all the times (okay, there were only like 3) I’ve ever nearly caused a horrible car wreck while speeding down the highway…there’s a 100% chance I was listening to Lightning Bolt at the time.
The moral of the story is, if you download this album (and you can grab it for free from WFMU’s Free Music Archive, which is why I think it’s okay to post here as well) don’t listen to it in your car. “Promise me, Ned.”
Lightning Bolt
Live On WFMU
February 27th, 2001
MediaFire DL Link
01. Waiting For The Assassin
02. …
03. Ride The Sky [MP3]
04. …
05. Two Towers
06. …
07. Thirteen Monsters
08. (Unknown)
09. …
10. Saint Jacque
11. …
12. Wee Ones Parade
13. …
14. (Unknown)
15. …
